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The Einherjar: Celebrating
the Norse Feast of the Fallen Warriors As an Honoring of Modern Heroes
By Yasmine Galenorn
(parts of this article
reprinted from Dancing With The Sun by Yasmine Galenorn
Llewellyn
Worldwide-copyright 1999)
When I first wrote about the
festival of the Einherjar for my book, Dancing With The Sun,
for all the personal tragedy and pain I'd been through, I had never
experienced anything on such a national scale as the recent attacks
in New York and Washington DC. I had never looked at my country
and really acknowledged the heroism and courage that our people-human
beings, ultimately-can show in the face of disaster. I wasn't
born during WWII, what I consider our last "necessary"
war. I wasn't alive during the Korean conflict. Vietnam,
well, that was a war that will forever remain shrouded in controversy
and I was just a young girl, insulated from the public opinion by a
family who never got involved in politics.
Today, I am far from a child, and
in the past two weeks, we have been attacked on home soil to an
extent we have not seen in the modern era. Unlike Pearl Harbor,
the targets weren't military-they were ordinary citizens, people like
you and me who were just going about their daily business and
happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And now,
close to five thousand lay beneath the rubble of two of our most
noted landmarks-the landmarks of free commerce and the seat of our
nation's military preparedness.
We have been raped of our
security, torn inside-out with tragedy. Thousands of innocent
victims have died, hundreds of them were used as weapons-the
terrorists used the planes and their occupants as surely as if they
were guns loaded with bullets. People are losing their jobs,
they are afraid to fly now, we are alert-worrying that perhaps there
will be more attacks, these sneak attacks. Arab-Americans are
getting hurt in a series of hate crimes. We no longer go about
our daily lives as we did-secure in the feeling that our nation is a
safe haven in which to live.
However, out of this tragedy a
resilience and strength are being born. No matter what our
separate beliefs are concerning what our response as a nation should
be, one inescapable, wonderful fact remains clear: heroes have
emerged from the ashes and dust. Modern heroes-and many of them
have paid for their courage with their lives.
*Those firefighters, police,
rescue workers who raced into open arms of danger in order to save
others and lost their own lives-they were heroes.
*Those firefighters, police and
rescue workers who still, on a daily basis, sift through the rubble,
hoping that somewhere, someone will have survived-they are heroes.
*The passengers aboard the plane
in Pennsylvania who found out what the hijackers were up to and who
decided that it was better to die thwarting the attack plans rather
than let the hijackers use them and their plane to kill others-they
were heroes.
*The people who, worldwide,
responded by rolling up their sleeves and heading out to the blood
banks; who offered to take into their homes those strangers who were
stranded when the airlines were shut down-they are heroes.
*The people who stand up against
unfounded racism during this time of fear, who speak out against hate
crimes and who work together regardless of faith in order to help
renew the spirit of this country-they are heroes.
*The people who, worldwide, have
poured out their love, support, and tears-who have made the choice to
stand by our nation-they are heroes.
Now, more than ever, we need our
rituals and celebrations and traditions. This November, for the
first time in several years, I will be celebrating the Einherjar-the
Feast of the Fallen Warriors. I will honor those heroes who
gave their lives in this tragedy. I will also honor those
heroes still working among dangerous conditions that could so easily
topple into more tragedy. I will express my gratitude to those
who offer their support. I will be grateful that I live in a
country with so many freedoms-freedoms that are hard-won and, if we
are not vigilant, that may be hard to keep. And I will vow to
do my part to keep these freedoms part of our national heritage.
While I've never before considered
myself terribly "patriotic", I found that I really am.
I'm ¼ Cherokee and I admit, I've always had a grudge against
the government for how it treats the native population.
However, I'm also ¾ Irish and those members of my family came
here for a better chance than they had in their home country. I
feel that I, along with other members of my family, have managed to
achieve what we might never had, if we'd stayed in Ireland. So
I am a part of the melting pot that is America. And I am proud
of my heritages, my lineage, and the fact that both ethnicities could
meet and unite. For that really is what our country is about-a
haven for many faiths, many races, many nationalities. We are
all different, and yet we are all American.
I certainly don't condone
everything our government does and I don't stand behind all of the
decisions made-this is one cornerstone of democracy-the right to
disagree with my government's choices. However, I do believe
that we have enormous potential, that we have helped people on a
worldwide basis over the years and now we are seeing the world come
to our aid-with words and actions that have left me in tears of
gratitude more than once over the past couple of weeks.
Two nights after the attacks, I
was sitting in my living room, staring at the television, when I
noticed a flicker out of the corner of my eye. I looked into
the hallway and saw, glowing in a bluish-silver light, a
Valkyrie. Startled, but not totally surprised-after all, I have
many spirit-forms walking through my home-I first thought of my dear
friend who recently moved back to Berlin. She is a Priestess of
Frejya and I wondered if the Valkyrie was here for some reason
connected to her. However, as I probed the energy a little
more, I found no connection to my friend. I watched as the
Valkyrie walked over to our futon in the living room and sat down, an
exhausted glaze washing over her face. She sat there, elbows
propped on knees, as if the weight of the world rested on her
shoulders. And then it hit me-the Valkyries ferry souls to
Valhalla, they retrieve the souls of the heroes who died during
battle-and I knew that the guides and guardians in the *spirit world*
have been working overtime. After a little while, she got up
and vanished through the wall. I felt honored that she would
choose my home in which to rest for a moment.
The Einherjar are the fallen
warriors who die in battle and are swept up by the Valkyries to be
taken to Valhalla. They are the heroes, the brave-hearted
ones. I've come across references that place the celebration as
corresponding to both our modern Memorial Day and our modern Veterans
Day. It makes sense either way, but I learned to celebrate it
on November 11th, so will continue to do so. And this year, on
November 11th, I will celebrate the ritual of the Einherjar with a
decidedly current flavor. I invite you to adjust this ritual as
you need to for your own use. Remember: it is good to remember
those ancestors who preceded us in death, but we must not forget the
new harvest of the dead, and we must honor them with as much care and
love as we honor our ancestors.
Einherjar Ritual
Since celebrating the Einherjar is
a Norse festival, I designed these rites to have a Norse flavor while
still retaining familiar elements out of modern Pagan rituals.
Instead of invoking the directions/elements per se, we will invoke
the four dwarfs who hold up the sky. Instead of an athame, we
will use a hammer (a small sledgehammer that can stand upright is
perfect), and a drinking horn instead of a chalice.
We will also need mead or wine (if
you cannot drink alcohol, you might want to substitute a honey-lemon
tea or sparkling grape juice; but if you have no problem with
alcohol, use it for this ceremony because it is traditional and there
are times to respect tradition).
Decorate your altar with pictures
and symbols of those you wish to remember.
The Priest and Priestess lead the ceremony.
PT:
(using hammer, casts circle) I cast a ring of power and protection,
let it encircle this sacred space, allowing nothing unwelcome to
enter in.
PST:
(facing east) Austri, mighty dwarf who holds up the eastern quarter
of the sky, I call to you-come to this place and join us, you who
bring clarity and illumination to the world in a time during which we
so desperately need it.
PT:
(facing south) Sudhri, mighty dwarf who holds up the southern
quarter of the sky, I call to you-come to this place and join us, you
who bring creation and transformation to the world. Help us to
transform tragedy into triumph, horror into victory, and hatred into cooperation.
PST:
(facing west) Vestri, mighty dwarf who holds up the western quarter
of the sky, I call to you-come to this place and join us, you who
bring emotion and purification to the world. Help us to wash
away the pain of loss, help us to find solace and peace within
ourselves and intuition's guidance.
PT:
(facing north) Nordhri, mighty dwarf who holds up the northern
quarter of the sky, I call to you-come to this place and join us, you
who bring stability and manifestation to the world. Help us to
guide the souls of the dead who are lost and confused to their new
lives. Help us to stabilize the energy in this world and bring
order out of chaos.
(Priest and Priestess come to the
center of the circle)
PT:
Odhinn, All-Father, we ask that you join our rites as we remember
the souls of those who recently died in a battle unlike any other we
have fought this century. We gather to honor the heroes who
sacrificed their own lives in order to save and help others, to
recognize and give honor to the heroes who daily put themselves in
jeopardy for others. Be with us, Wise One, Rune-Bringer, and
guide us in our rites tonight.
PST:
Freyja, Queen of Valkyries, we ask that you join our rites as we
remember those slain in battle. Guide your maidens in gathering
the souls of those dead heroes who might be ascending to
Valhalla. Be with us, Great Dis, Lady of Magick, and help ease
our sorrow as we lift our glasses in our rites tonight.
PT:
Tyr the One-Handed, we ask that you join our rites as we remember
those honorably slain in battle. Our heroes are our
firefighters, our police, our rescue workers-volunteers who plunged
into the smoke and ash without hesitation. Be with us, Bravest
of Gods, and help to guide us in our rites tonight.
PST:
We come together to remember all of the fallen. We come
together to honor those who died in service. We drink to their
memory and toast them with the golden nectar of the Gods.
(As the Priestess holds up the
drinking horn, the Priest first pours a little mead outside in honor
of Odhinn, then fills the horn and offers it to the Priestess)
PST:
To the warriors and heroes who died in battle.
(The horn is passed to the Priest,
then around the circle, being refilled as necessary).
PT:
To the heroes who battle still.
(The horn is passed to the
Priestess, then around the circle, being refilled as necessary).
PST:
To those innocent victims who were killed without cause.
(The horn is passed to the Priest,
then around the circle, being refilled as necessary).
PT:
To those who opened their arms to us in our time of need.
(The horn is passed to the
Priestess, then around the circle, being refilled as necessary).
PST:
To the guardians and guides on the Other Side who are there to guide
the dead through their transitions.
(The horn is passed to the Priest,
then around the circle, being refilled as necessary).
PT:
If anyone has a personal toast to make, let now be the time.
(He should start-if he has a
personal toast to make, then he should make it and drink. The
horn is passed to the Priestess, who should make her personal toasts,
drink, and then pass to the next person and so on-around the circle,
being refilled as necessary. Any mead remaining in the horn
should be poured outside and then the Gods should be thanked and the
circle opened. Feasting should follow--this is not a time for
sparsity-good, solid food and drink are called for.) |
